Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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Juvenile Delinquency
Theories of Causation
Many theories have been advanced to explain the cause of juvenile delinquency. Some are quite sophisticated, whereas others are predicated on rather basic instinctive conclusions that may or may not have a basis in fact. Many juvenile curfews are based on an instinctive conclusion that youths are likely to be victimized or get into trouble after certain hours. For example, in August 1994 the Town of Vernon, Connecticut, enacted its first juvenile curfew law.1 It forbade persons under 18 to be in any public place or business. The rationale was that town leaders had noticed groups of juveniles loitering in town, and prior to the law a teenager had been murdered. Surveys also indicated that youths were fearful about gangs, weapons, and victimization. According to leaders, the curfew was passed for the protection of young people and to reduce the incidence of delinquency. From Sunday through Thursday, the prohibited hours were from 11:00 P.M. until 5:00 A.M., and on Friday and Saturday the prohibited hours were from 12:01 A.M. until 5:00 A.M. Unfortunately for the town leaders, the curfew law was held to be unconstitutional because it unfairly restricted the right of free movement, and hence the equal protection rights of juveniles.
rom the time of the first civil communities, every society has declared certain modes of behavior to be unacceptable or criminal in nature. Early customs and laws mandated compliance and punishment for the greater good of the group, city, or nation. In the modern era, the codification of norms of behavior is universal, and within contemporary societies the designation of some behaviors as criminal is fairly uncomplicated by definition: Most people have an instinctive understanding that criminal deviance involves egregiously (outrageously bad) illegal acts for which perpetrators can be punished. A less instinctiveand more technicaldefinition requires that these acts involve:
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A positive or negative act in violation of penal law; an offense against the State. . . . An act committed or omitted in violation of a public law. . . . Crimes are those wrongs which the government notices as injurious to the public, and punishes in what is called a criminal proceeding, in its own name. . . . A crime may be defined to be any act done in violation of those duties which an individual owes to the community, and for the breach of which the law has provided that the offender shall make satisfaction to the public.2 It is important to remember that the concept of juvenile delinquency is a relatively modern development, as is the notion of juvenile justice. As discussed in Chapter 2, premodern societies simply punished juvenile offenders as if they were nothing more than young criminals. Very often, this approach was rooted in the presumption that the causes of delinquency are inseparable from criminal causation, and that all such behavior should be similarly punished. Practitioners and researchers have sought for generations to explain why juveniles engage in criminal deviance. Is such behavior a matter of individual choice? Can our understanding of biology and psychology explain delinquency? To what extent do environmental factors influence juvenile deviance? Are juvenile delinquents likely to become adult criminals? Historically, professionals have proposed a number of factors that theoretically explain delinquent behavior. Each theory represents the height of scientific understanding in each era. This is important, because policies derived from these theories have not only sought to isolate juvenile offenders but have also tried to manage the root causes of their behavior. Thus, punishments, rehabilitative techniques, detentions, and other controls have been designed to target the accepted explanatory factors. This chapter investigates the causes of delinquency. Several historical theoretical modelsfrom ancient explanations through the modern eraare discussed. Models developed during ancient and medieval eras will seem quite ridiculous from our modern vantage point, largely because many of them were based on little more than superstition and quasi-science (nearly scientific, but not quite). Similarly, many models developed during the modern era have reflected scientific and ideological biases of the timeall of which were accepted as rational explanations by contemporary experts. Nevertheless, if we are to understand present theory we must investigate contemporary contexts and the past. This is necessary not only because we consistently build new insight upon previous constructs, but also because it is likely that experts in the not too distant future will question some commonly accepted explanations from the present era. Table 3.1 summarizes the types of theories of criminal causation explored in this chapters discussion and their basic hypotheses. The discussion in this chapter will review the following themes: Foreword to Theories of Juvenile Deviance Superstition and Myth: Early Theories of Delinquency and Crime Choice and Responsibility: Theories of the Classical School
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Human society has developed innumerable explanations for criminal causation. Theoretical traditions have been developed throughout the ages as representing each societys understanding of themselves and their environment. In prescientific societies, superstition represented an amalgam of spiritual and natural understanding. After the European Enlightenment, theoretical traditions represented an attempt to find the true root causes of deviance. This table summarizes the theoretical traditions that were developed to explain why some members of society violate the norms and customs of the group. Theoretical Traditions Early theories Classical School Quality of Influence Deterministic Free will Critiques of Theoretical Traditions Unscientific superstition Politically motivated Heavy emphasis on punishment Little regard for rehabilitation Rooted in quasi-science Overly deterministic
Biological theories
Evil, shown through facial features Brain development or underdevelopment Evolutionary primitiveness Heredity Body types Personality & childhood dysfunction Stimulusresponse/rewardpunishment Psychopathic personality Normlessness Strain between means & goals Social structures/ social ecology Learning from social interactions Societal inequities Dominant & subordinate group conflict Capitalism, racism, & repression
Deterministic
Psychological theories
Modified deterministic
Sociological theories
Modified deterministic
Too much emphasis on poor classes Minimal emphasis on other factors Difficult to operationalize
Critical theory
Modified deterministic
Physical Qualities and Causation: Biological Theories The Mind and Causation: Psychological Theories Society and Causation: Sociological Theories The Impact of Injustice: Critical Theory
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unique distinctions based on gender, race, class, and culture. Causes of juvenile deviance span socioeconomic, racial, regional, and gender categories. Factors commonly accounting for deviant behavior include family dysfunction, substance abuse, low self-esteem, disadvantaged communities, and peer pressure.5 As a foreword to discussing these theories, we shall consider a general background to causes of juvenile delinquency, first by summarizing common factors influencing juvenile behavior and then by presenting a profile of juvenile deviance.
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Photo 3.1
Socioeconomic Class. Past conventional wisdom held that children from poor and working-class backgroundsthat is, youths born into the dangerous classes9are much more likely to engage in delinquent behavior. The historical analysis presented in Chapter 2 illustrates how juvenile reform efforts such as the Child-Saving Movement focused their attentions on urban poor and working-class youths, many of whom were children of immigrants. Even as late as the 1950s and early 1960s, experts argued that class background was a significant explanatory variable for delinquent propensities.10 This presumption has since been vigorously challenged, as statistical data began to indicate during the 1960s that delinquency is also quite common among middle-class youths. Reasons for middle-class delinquency include parental pressure, peer pressure, uncertainty for the future, experimentation with intoxicating substances, experimenting with alternative lifestyles, and strong youth subcultures. Having considered (and accepted) the observation that middle-class delinquency is a significant problem, one must also keep in mind that theorists continue to identify certain dysfunctional norms among very poor urban subcultures. Research on the inner-city underclass has found that large numbers of the urban poor are caught in a chronic generational cycle of poverty, low educational achievement, teenage parenthood, unemployment, and welfare dependence.11 Underclass theorists argue that antisocial behaviors have become entrenched norms within chronically impoverished inner-city environments, so that delinquency and criminality are now endemic facts of life.12
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Educational Experiences. Educational experiences are, in many ways, a coequal influence on juvenile development, along with family and socioeconomic factors, because school environments can shape many youths sense of opportunity and self-worth. For example, school dropouts and poor academic performers exhibit a higher incidence of delinquency and crime than graduates and academic achievers. Academic achievement is considered to be one of the principal steppingstones toward success in American society. In an ideal environment, opportunities for education, mentoring, and encouragement to excel should be equally available for all children. Unfortunately, educational opportunities are not equally available to all youths for a number of reasons. Socioeconomic and demographic factors can also have an impact on educational opportunities and performance,13 so that poor children often experience a very different educational environment in comparison to middle-class children. This is particularly apparent in inner-city, underclass environments, where educational achievement is frequently not a strong norm of behavior.14 For example, norms of behavior on school grounds can be problematic depending on whether socially accepted values are instilled for academic competition, deportment, and study habits. Underachievement in school can also be exacerbated by teachers perceptions and expectations based on appearance, gender, race, and socioeconomic class.
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behavior have on the progression of this behavior toward criminality? Research on these questions has identified a relationship between the early inception of delinquency and later adult criminality.16 These studies indicate that the likelihood of a persons chronic wrongdoing decreases as ones age of inception increases. In other words, the older one is when one commences breaking the law, the less likely he or she is to continue committing offenses. Long-term delinquency tends to be found among those who begin their careers earliest in life. Progression of Juvenile Deviance: Habitual Behavior. Habitual (chronic) juvenile delinquency is characteristically associated with age of inception, and yet it is not necessarily associated with increased incidence or with expertise (specialization) in certain offenses. In other words, although an early inception of juvenile deviance is associated with chronic wrongdoing, this does not necessarily mean that the number of offenses increases with early inception. Some studies have found that arrests increase after 13 years of age and crest at age 17, while other studies hold that this may be true for some types of offenses, but not all.17 Juvenile delinquents also tend to be generalist offenders, in that they typically commit a variety of offenses rather than develop an area of expertise.18 Thus, it appears that age of inception can be a factor for habitual continuation of deviant behavior as youths mature, but not necessarily for acceleration in numbers of all offenses, nor for the development of expertise. Outcome of Juvenile Deviance: Criminality. Many adult criminals were juvenile delinquents, so that for many criminals the progression toward criminality does indeed begin at a young age. Delinquents who become criminals tend to be people who never overcame the environmental and idiosyncratic (uniquely personal) factors that led them to engage in chronically deviant behavior. These individuals are career criminals who have essentially accepted deviant lifestyles that last well into adulthood, often ending with long periods of incarceration. However, this is not always the case. Some delinquents quit engaging in antisocial behavior and never progress into adult criminality. In essence, they outgrow delinquency in the same manner that most functional juveniles mature into behaviors that result in responsible adulthood. Reasons for individuals halting their delinquent behavior include maturing into responsibility, fear of punishment (being scared straight), and an acceptance of mainstream values and lifestyles.
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Photo 3.2
At-risk youths? Young boys pose in front of a graffiti-covered wall. The age of inception for delinquent behavior is an important factor for future criminal behavior.
the group. The purpose of these explanations was to formulate systematic parameters for identifying the sources of social order, reasons for disorder, and sanctions against those responsible for breaking norms of behavior. Keeping in mind that ancient and medieval society conflated what we now term delinquency with criminality, it is instructive to explore several premodern explanations for criminal deviance. Many early attempts to explain deviance were grounded in spiritualism and naturalism.19 That is, social stability came from a harmonious relationship with forces beyond the corporeal world, and human criminality was a consequence of a wrongdoers inappropriate connection with supernatural powers or nature-based influences. Offenses were essentially spiritual sins or crimes against the natural order, and punishments were considered to be in accordance with nature or divinely sanctioned. This presumption of linkage between order, disorder, and nonhuman influences became part of the body of laws and traditions in many early societies, albeit with a number of cultural adaptations.
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In this section, two early theories of delinquency and criminality will be examined. These include naturalism and demonology.
Naturalism
Naturalism refers to the ancient practice of linking human affairs to the natural world and inferring that human behavior is derived from the forces of nature. Just as the tides are affected by the sun and the moon, so too are human passions and fortunes. All that is necessary is for humans to become adept at understanding how the forces of nature work, and develop the ability to interpret these forces. Naturalism is therefore a deterministic theory of criminal causation, because it eliminates individual responsibility for ones lack of responsible self-control. Ancient civilizations around the Mediterranean region often concluded that human behavior is driven by nature. Natural signs were observed to divine the course of human events, and offerings were given to appeal for favors, or to appease perceived signs of punishment. For example, the Romans had a propensity for studying flights of birds and reading the entrails of sacrificial beasts to divine their fortunes. Romans also believed that the moon, or Luna, influenced human behavior. Our word lunatic comes from the ancient belief that criminal or otherwise bizarre behavior is caused by phases of the moon. The Greeks consulted oracles, such as the famous one at Delphi, who sometimes divined fortunes by inhaling sacred vapors, hallucinating, and babbling fortunes that required interpretation by holy guides. Burnt offerings were also made to discern the will of the gods and appease them. Greeks believed a great deal in living ones life as virtuously as possible, and that a virtuous person was a good person. One method for determining ones virtue was to observe the contours of ones body, because virtue was manifest in human appearance. Thus, good people were pleasing to the eye, and people literally stood naked before the court while officials debated their virtue.
Demonology
For many centuries, humans believed that evil creaturesdemons or devilswielded great influence over humans, sometimes possessing them and making them commit offenses against the greater good. Criminal behavior and delinquency were not considered to be a consequence of free will; instead, these offenses were manifestations of conflict between creatures of evil and chaos against deities of goodness and order. Demonology is also a deterministic theory of criminal causation. When people committed crimes against society, they were also committing offenses against the deified order, and remedies and punishments were meted out accordingly. Painful ordeals (i.e., torture) were devised to elicit confessions or drive out the demonic spirits. Driving out evil demons,
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known as exorcism, was frequently quite excruciating. For example, a number of ancient cultures engaged in the practice of drilling holes in the skull (known as trephining), which supposedly allowed evil spirits to depart from their human host. Medieval and Renaissance-era Christians considered crimes to be offenses against God and the Roman Catholic Church, and used burning, maiming, breaking, and beating to drive out supernatural invaders. These were also effective techniques for producing confessions of possession, although suspects who refused to confess were often considered to be so under the influence of the devil that they were unsalvageable. Basically, confession was evidence of possession, and failure to confess was evidence of possession. Should the spirits or demons refuse to leave their human host (either with or without confessions), the possessed person was executed. Clearly, these tests and remedies were torturous ordeals ab initio, so that the suspected human host was quite an unlucky person at every phase of the inquiry. As a sidebar, it should be noted that mental illness was also explained as evidence of spirit possession, with similar methods used for salvaging the unfortunate human host.
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the benefits. Having made this observation, it should be noted that the Classical School was actually quite progressive in the history of theories of causation. Its basic assumptions are the following: Humans are fundamentally rational and enjoy free will. Crime is an outcome of rationality and free will. People choose to engage in criminal rather than conformist behavior. Criminality is morally wrong and is an affront against social order and the collective good of society. Civil society must necessarily punish criminals to deter individual wrongdoers and other would-be criminals. Punishment should be proportional to the nature of the criminal offense, and never be excessive. It must also be a guaranteed response to criminality, and meted out quickly. The Classical School originated with the writings of Cesare Beccaria in Italy, who published An Essay on Crimes and Punishment in 1764.20 His discussion of why crime occurs and how society should respond to it was groundbreaking, and it resulted in widespread debate. Beccaria advocated the then-radical proposition that punishment should be swift, certain, and proportional. He also argued that both corporal and capital punishments should be abolished, and that most (if not all) criminal laws should be revised accordingly. The philosopher Jeremy Bentham in England promoted Beccarias thesis in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, primarily in his book An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation.21 Bentham believed that humans rationally seek pleasure and avoid pain, so that rational people can be deterred from criminal deviance. Nevertheless, criminals conclude that the pleasure derived from crime counterbalances the pain of punishment. Bentham further argued that deterrence would be accomplished by the certainty of punishment, and by making the severity of each punishment surpass any benefit derived from the crime. Because free will and rational choice are at the center of Classical criminology, it naturally represents a rejection of deterministic theories of deviance. However, as debate was joined during the nineteenth century on the question of what constitutes free will and choice, the Classical School modified its philosophy by acknowledging that juveniles and mentally ill adults do not have the same capacity to make rational choices as do mature, sane adults. Therefore, special consideration was gradually developed for these classes of offenders. This modification is sometimes referred to as the neoclassical approach to deviance.
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Classical School philosophy were adapted to the American cultural context as part of the nations crackdown on juvenile delinquents and criminals. As a consequence, the underlying philosophy of American criminal justice has shifted away from attempting to rehabilitate offenders and moved toward punishment, incapacitation, and deterrence. In many states, there is a fundamental Classical School presumption that juvenile and adult offenders have exercised free will and made a rational choice, so that any mitigating circumstances involving an individuals social history or family background are deemed secondary to his or her calculation to break the law. As applied within the American context, offenders commonly receive mandatory sentences for specified offenses, and most states have passed legislation to punish offenders in proportion to their crimes. For example, aggravating circumstances such as the use of firearms are punished more severely. Many juvenile delinquents are now waived into the adult system, and individual criminals receive longer and more severe sentences. Nationally, more prisons have been built and more offenders have been imprisoned. On a final note, it is interesting to consider that what was once a groundbreaking and radical philosophy during its time has come to be labeled as a conservative policy in the modern era. An ongoing criticism of the modern approach to the Classical School is that it does not take into account a criminals idiosyncratic circumstances. It is also criticized by civil libertarians as weighing too heavily in favor of punishment, without incorporating philosophies of rehabilitation.
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An Honest Appearance: Physiognomy Bumps on the Head: Phrenology Evolutionary Primitiveness: Atavism The Bad Seed: Heredity Body Types: Somatotyping
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portions of the brain. Using brain maps as guides, experts believed that they could postulate criminal/delinquent skull shapes, as well as creative, intelligent, insane, and unintelligent skull shapes. The skulls and brains of deceased criminals were studied by phrenologists in laboratories to support their position. Phrenology was a viable theory throughout the nineteenth century, and lingered to the beginning of the twentieth century. It arguably still exists at the level of popular culture, in films and carnivals.
Since Lombrosos conclusions were observational, he recognized that not all criminals exhibited these physical features. He theorized that passions such as avarice and opportunism could be caused by societal and other environmental inputs. Thus, biology and life experiences can combine to trigger criminality in some people. Although modern criminologists reject Lombrosos theory of evolutionary primitiveness, he is recognized as being one of the founders of the
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Positivist School of criminology. His theory of congenital predisposition toward delinquency and criminality greatly influenced later positivist inquiry into deviant behavior. Positivists began to theorize that biology, society, and environment can affect human behavior, and that these influences can lead to criminality among those who are predisposed toward deviant behavior. Lombrosos contribution was to suggest that biology and culture in combination are central causes of delinquency and crime.
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that less than 5% of males exhibit this pattern, and therefore the theory has little predictive value.28 However, chromosome theory represents an important example of how modern scientific knowledge can be used to update older theories. Research continues on possible connections between chromosomes and criminality.
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78 TABLE 3.2
UNDERSTANDING JUVENILE JUSTICE PROCESS AND SYSTEMS BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF DELINQUENT CAUSATION
Biological theories were developed as deterministic explanations of delinquency and criminal behavior. They have historically sought to discover physiological bases for deviance and have generally applied the scientific knowledge of their time to this endeavor. New discoveries and theories have continually supplanted older approaches. This table summarizes several biological theories developed to explain delinquency and criminality. Indicators of Deviance Facial features Physical features Effect on Behavior Goodness or evil Honesty or dishonesty Crime and delinquency Feelings, emotions, attitudes Crime and delinquency Intellectual regression Congenitally deviant predisposition Congenital deviance Predisposition for deviance Aggression, violence Critique of Theory Quasi-scientific Not supported empirically
Theory Physiognomy
Phrenology
Atavism
Heredity
Criminality in family Extra Y chromosome in males Body features Relative percentage of mesomorphy
Not 100% correlation Other intervening factors exist Inherent inaccuracy and subjectivity
Somatotyping
well-known to the general public, as evidenced by the extent to which they are prominently featured in popular culture productions such as novels, films, and television shows. Most of these theories have stimulated a great deal of debate among experts and laypersons, largely because they are fundamentally subjective in nature and their explanatory value is disputable. Psychological theories ascribe deviant behaviors to cognitive and personality disorders brought on by ones environment, brain chemistry, or some other condition. Such theories are not as rigorously deterministic as other approaches to causation, because they allow for some degree of free will albeit a disordered free will. In this sense, they are a modified (or less complete) form of determinism. Several elements are commonly present in psychological explanations of delinquency and crime:
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Criminals and delinquents do not (or cannot) differentiate right from wrong. Psychological abnormalities are caused by a number of factors, including detrimental behavioral conditioning, diseased minds, and learning from toxic environments. Offenders have disordered or abnormal personalities. Some offenders cannot control themselves. Personality develops during childhood, which affects behavior during adulthood. Several psychological theories of delinquency and criminality are examined in this section, including: Psychoanalytic Theory Conditioning Theory Psychopathology Theory
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traumatizing events during childhood can become catalysts for delinquency and criminality. Juvenile delinquents and adult criminals are, according to psychoanalytic theory, persons without sufficiently developed egos and superegos. If the moralistic superego is weak, a person can easily act out on his or her primal urges without remorse (an unchecked id), and mislabel deviance as acceptable behavior. When people without superegos act out on these urges, their behavior is socially unacceptable. Such behavior, if illegal, forces society to define the individuals as delinquents or criminals, and to deal with them accordingly. Thus, people who have poorly developed superegos and egos are incapable of acting outside of their own interests and are roughly analogous to psychopaths in the modern era. Psychopaths, also termed sociopaths, are deemed to be unable to empathize with other peoples feelings or well-being. Freud also argued that human personalities are formed during several phases of childhood development. Abnormal personalities and other psychological imbalances begin to form during these phases, and can reflect the phase in which the problem developed. For example, according to Freudian theory, if a person regresses to or becomes fixated in their phallic phase of development (ages three to five years), they may become sexually deviant and engage in illicit sex practices such as prostitution or rape.
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According to this school, environmental stimuli operate either as punishers or reinforcers. Criminals and delinquents are stimulated (reinforced) by their environment to continue acting out deviantly until they are punished in some manner. Therefore, when offenders are repeatedly rewarded for their deviance and receive no punishment for breaking the law, they are likely to continue until the authorities catch them.
Psychopathology Theory
The concept of the psychopathic personality was developed during the 1950s to describe criminals who behaved cruelly and seemingly with no empathy for their victims. The observation that some criminals are apparently unablethat is, they have no capacityto appreciate the feelings of their victims led to a great deal of research on this behavior. In essence, free will is a secondary motivation for this type of delinquent or criminal. The condition was wholly developed and described by 1964 in the book The Mask of Sanity, written by Hervey Cleckley.36 Psychopaths (sociopaths) are considered to be people who have no consciencein Freudian terms, no superego. They are severely dysfunctional in their relationships with other people, and are fundamentally selfish, unpredictable, untruthful, and unstable. The term is sometimes used to describe very aggressive delinquents and criminals who act out spontaneously without an observable motive. This aggressiveness and impulsiveness are typical manifestations of the psychopathic personality, which is why many become lawbreakers. Table 3.3 summarizes the attributes of several psychological theories of criminal and delinquent causation.
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Psychological theories of causation apply research and theory of psychology to criminology. As new understandings of the human psyche are proposed, psychologists have had an important explanatory impact on theories of causation. Although psychological theories are not strongly deterministic, they do provide insight on predispositions for deviant behavior. This table summarizes several psychological theories developed to explain delinquency and criminality. Theory Psychoanalysis Indicators of Deviance Weak superego Incomplete personality development Responses to environmental stimuli Dysfunctional personality Lack of conscience Effect on Behavior Psychopathology Regressed or fixated personality Crime and delinquency Critique of Theory Not explanatory for all people/groups Not all people respond to these stimuli Not explanatory for all people/groups Difficult to diagnose linkage to crime Need further research
Conditioning
Psychopathology
Beginning in the 1920s, the Chicago School of Sociology (centered at the University of Chicago) pioneered modern sociological research. A great deal of research and a number of theories since that time have been developed, and continue to be developed, to improve our understanding of the relationship between society and human deviance. Several elements are commonly present in sociological explanations of delinquency and crime: Socioeconomic conditions and pressures shape individual and collective behavior. Inequality and deprivation are associated with delinquency and criminality. Subcultural norms are often at odds with accepted norms of society, creating tensions that can result in subcultural conflict with the greater society. Delinquency and crime are associated with underclass conditions such as poverty, neighborhood degeneration, low educational achievement, inadequate housing, and family dysfunction. Several sociological theories of delinquency and criminality are examined in this section, including: Anomie and Strain Theories Social Ecology (Structural) Theory Differential Association Theory
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regardless of which ethnic group moved into the zone. Researchers concluded that the social structures of these areas affected the quality of life for inhabitants. By definition, urban structural conditions include overcrowding, poor sanitation, inadequate transportation, unemployment, poverty, poor schools, transience, births out of wedlock, and low employment. These factors contribute to high delinquency and crime rates because of resulting widespread social instability.41 Social ecology research generally describes prevalent physical and social structures that affect the quality of life in American cities. These studies commonly report the following urban ecological factors:42 Explanations for deviance must take social structures into account. Delinquency and crime rates in urban areas vary markedly in identified neighborhoods and other designated concentric zones. Rates of delinquency and crime are highest in urban core zonesthe inner cityand lowest outside of these cores. Other problems common to the underclass also exist in inner-city neighborhoods and other designated zones. Social ecology theory has been criticized for overreliance on social structures to explain delinquency and crime. According to critics, other factors such as anomie or in-migration of criminally inclined people (who drive out law-abiding residents) can also explain deviance. Nevertheless, research on social ecology is likely to continue to be conducted and refined.
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Sociologists have historically studied the role of people and groups in society, and the effect society has had on its members. For sociological theorists, the broader society has certain inherent features and structures that cause some members to engage in delinquent and criminal behavior. These theories sometimes reflect the political ideology of the times in which they were designed. This table summarizes several sociological theories developed to explain delinquency and criminality. Theory Anomie and strain Indicators of Deviance Normlessness Strain between means and goals Quality of life Surrounding and social structures Dysfunctional environment Dysfunctional associations Effect on Behavior Illicit attainment of goals Critique of Theory Too much emphasis on poorer classes Not explanatory for all people/groups Failure to consider other factors Difficult to operationalize variables
Social ecology
High crime and delinquency rates Illicit achievement of goals Achievement of illicit goals
Differential association
is that they base their choices on different lessons learned from their different experiences. Norms and values are similarly learned, but some people internalize deviant norms and values. Table 3.4 summarizes the attributes of several sociological theories of criminal and delinquent causation.
Conflict Theory
Conflict theories of causation hypothesize that social tensions and conflicts are indelible features of society. Conflicts arise between dominant groups and subordinate classes, races, genders, political groups, ethnic
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groups, and other defined outsiders in society.44 The fundamental characteristic of these tensions is that they often pit the haves against the have-nots, with the latter being labeled as criminals or insurgents during these conflicts. Because such tensions are indelible, they can at best be controlled by social institutions rather than completely eradicated. In practice, this means that the have-nots must be coerced to obey the laws and rules of those in power. From this perspective, laws and rules are simply instruments of control used by ruling elites to maintain control of key institutions, and thereby shut out others who might challenge the authority of the elites. The focus of conflict theories is on the entire economic and political system, and the socioeconomic tensions theoretically created by this system.
Radical Criminology
During the 1960s and 1970s, a good deal of theory and research on delinquency and criminality reflected the political and social discord of the period. Critical theorists challenged previous conventions of criminal causation, arguing that delinquency and criminality were caused by societys inequitable ideological, political, and socioeconomic makeup.45 Proponents of the emergent radical approach argued that because power and wealth have been unequally distributed, those who have been politically and economically shut out understandably resort to criminal antagonism against the prevailing order. According to radical criminologists, these classes will continue to engage in behavior labeled as criminal until society remedies the plight of the powerless and disenfranchised. Critical theories similar to radical criminology frequently use Marxist theory to critique the role of capitalist economics in creating socioeconomic inequities.46 Marxist perspectives on criminology argue that the ruling capitalist classes exploit the labor of the lower classes and co-opt them by convincing them that capitalism is actually beneficial for them.47 Marxist-oriented radical criminologists hold that ruling elites have used their own interpretations of justice to maintain their status. Hence, the criminal justice system is inherently exploitative and unfair toward criminals who originate from the lower classes. The fact that African Americans, Latinos, and the poor are overrepresented in prisons is explained as a manifestation of the inherent unfairness at the core of the existing capitalist establishment. One readily apparent criticism of critical theories is that they rely exclusively on political and economic ideologies to explain delinquency and criminality. Other factors are given cursory attention. Few empirical findings support the ideology-based premises of critical theories, and few workable policy recommendations have been made. For example, policies based on the precepts of Marxist radical criminology would require a fundamental reordering of the political and economic system in the United States. This is impractical, unpopular, and highly unlikely to occur.
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Chapter Summary
A large number of theories have been developed to identify and explain the causes of juvenile and criminal deviance. Early attempts to explain deviance applied the then-accepted notion that natural and supernatural forces affect human fortunes and behavior. Some of these early deterministic theories held that the natural world is reflected in human appearance and behavior; others held that possession by demons and devils is responsible for criminality and mental illness. Superstition was supplanted by rationalism during the European Enlightenment. Classical School theorists were protocriminologists who focused on individual responsibility for delinquency and criminality. The Classical Schools approach is grounded in free will theories of causation, which apply rationalism to explain each criminals decision to break the law. The propagation of modern scientific methods of inquiry included the application of empirical reason to the new field of criminology. Biological explanations of causation are deterministic theories that study the effects of congenital traits on human behavior. Although many early biological theoriesphysiognomy, phrenology, and atavismare quasi-scientific by modern standards, they represent a serious effort to bring scientific rigor to the study of criminal causation. Biological inquiry continues unabated, with new fields of inquiry such as DNA research providing new bases for exploring the causes of delinquency and criminality. Social sciences such as psychology and sociology have also been the source of a rich diversity in theories of causation. Psychological explanations are grounded in several research traditions, such as psychoanalysis, conditioning, and psychopathology. These explanations are not as deterministic as biological theories, for they leave open the possibility of deviant free will. Sociological approaches examine the effects of social structures and processes on the behavior of individuals and groups of people. Societal conditions theoretically affect peoples collective perceptions of the availability of opportunities and the intensity of deprivations, so that delinquency and crime are reactions to certain types of environments. Critical theory is counterconventional in the sense that it challenges orthodox theories of criminal causation. In essence, they lay the blame for delinquency and crime on socioeconomic and political inequalities. Conflict theory and radical criminology represent typical critical approaches, arguing that fundamental changes must be made in society to remedy criminal deviance. Chapter 4 presents an overview of approaches and techniques used to measure the incidence of delinquency, crime, and victimization. This is an important field of inquiry because policies are frequently based on the interpretation of statistical data.
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2. What were the primary theories of causation in the premodern era? 3. What are the main presumptions of the Classical School? 4. What are the roles of choice and responsibility in the Classical School? 5. What are the main presumptions of biological theories? 6. How have biological traits been used to explain deviant behavior? 7. What are the main presumptions of psychological theories? 8. How have psychological traits been used to explain deviant behavior? 9. What are the main presumptions of sociological theories? 10. How have sociological factors been used to explain deviant behavior? 11. What are the main presumptions of critical theories?
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Discussion Questions
1. Does popular culture contribute to delinquency? 2. If an association exists, what are the policy implications? What would you do? 3. Is the presumption that inner-city music causes violent delinquency a racist presumption? 4. What analysis would a conditioning theorist give? A conflict theorist? 5. Who should be responsible for monitoring or regulating popular culture directed to teenagers?
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UNDERSTANDING JUVENILE JUSTICE PROCESS AND SYSTEMS Juvenile Justice Bulletin, October 1998: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/jjbulletin/9810_2/ contents.html Partnerships Against Violence Network: http://www.pavnet.org/ Youth Crime Watch of America: http://www.ycwa.org/ Note: The Web site URLs and exercises below are also from the books study site: http://www.sagepub.com/martin
Web Exercise
Using this chapters recommended Internet sites, conduct an online investigation of the causes of juvenile delinquency. What are common sources of juvenile deviance and violence? What are some of the common approaches used by agencies to explain and address the causes of juvenile delinquency? How effective do you think these organizations are? For an online search of the causes of delinquency, students should use a search engine and enter the following keywords: Juvenile Deviance Youth Crime
Recommended Readings
The following publications provide discussions on the causes of delinquency and criminal deviance.
Belknap, J. (1996). The invisible woman: Gender, crime, and justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Bohm, R. M. (2001). A Primer on delinquency and crime theory (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Lynch, M. J., & Groves, W. B. (1989). A primer in radical criminology (2nd ed.). Albany, NY: Harrow and Heston. Milovanovic, D. (1997). Postmodern criminology. Hamden, CT: Garland. Walker, S., Spohn, C., & DeLone, M. (1996). The color of justice: Race, ethnicity, and crime in America. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Notes _________________________________________________________
1. See Janet Ramos, Angel Ramos, and Richard Ramos v. Town of Vernon and Rudolph Rossmy, 353 F.3d 171 (2d Cir. 2003).
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Juvenile Delinquency 2. Black, H. C. (1968). Blacks law dictionary: Definitions of the terms and phrases of American and English jurisprudence, ancient and modern (rev. 4th ed., pp. 444445). St. Paul, MN: West Publishing. 3. For a discussion of research findings on drug use and delinquency, see Calhoun, T. C., & Chapple, C. L. (Eds.). (2003). Readings in juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice (p. 236, et seq.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 4. See Crowe, A. H. (1998, May). Drug identification and testing in the juvenile justice system. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 5. See DuRant, R. H., & Cadenhead, C. (1994, April). Factors associated with the use of violence among urban black adolescents. Journal of Public Health, 84, 4. 6. For a critical review of research on the intricate relationship between family background and teen delinquency, see Smith, C. A., and Stern, S. B. (1997, September). Delinquency and antisocial behavior: A review of family processes and intervention research. Social Service Review, 71, 3. 7. See Gorman-Smith, D., Tolan, P. H., Loweber, R., & Henry, D. B. (1998, October). Relation of family problems to patterns of delinquent involvement among urban youth. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 26, 5. 8. For a groundbreaking study of the effects of divorce on children and parents, see Wallerstein, J. S., & Kelly, J. B. (1996). Surviving the breakup: How children and parents cope with divorce. New York: Basic Books. 9. For a discussion of criminal justice and the dangerous classes, see Shelden, R. G. (2001). Controlling the dangerous classes: A critical introduction to the history of criminal justice. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. 10. See Cloward, R. A., & Ohlin, L. E. (1966). Delinquency and opportunity: A theory of delinquent gangs. New York: Free Press. 11. For an excellent discussion of the underclass, see Wilson, W. J. (1987). The truly disadvantaged: The inner city, the underclass, and public policy. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 12. For a discussion of the underclass and gang behavior, see Bursik, R. J., & Grasmick, H. G. (2000). The effect of neighborhood dynamics on gang behavior. In J. Miller, C. L. Maxson, & M. W. Klein (Eds.). The modern gang reader (2nd ed.). Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing. 13. See Alwin, D. F., & Thornton, A. (1984, December). Family origins and the schooling process: Early versus late influence of parental characteristics. American Sociological Review, 49, 6. 14. See Blair, S. L., & Legazpi Blair, M. C. (1999, Summer). Racial/ethnic differences in high school students academic performance: Understanding the interweave of social class and ethnicity in family context. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 30, 3. 15. Rush, G. E. (2000). The dictionary of criminal justice (5th ed., p. 106). New York: Dushkin/McGraw-Hill. 16. See Blumstein, A., Farrington, D. P., & Moitra, S. (1985). Delinquency careers: Innocents, amateurs, and persisters. In M. Tonry & M. Norval. Crime and justice: An annual review (6th ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press; see also
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UNDERSTANDING JUVENILE JUSTICE PROCESS AND SYSTEMS Wolfgang, M. E., Thornberry, T. P., & Figlio, R. M. (Eds.). (1987). From boy to man, from delinquency to crime. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 17. See Ageton, S. S., & Elliott, D. S. (1978). The incidence of delinquent behavior in a national probability sample of adolescents. Boulder, CO: Behavioral Research Institute. 18. See Hamparian, D. M. (1980). The violent few: A study of dangerous juvenile offenders. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. 19. For a history of criminal justice, see Johnson, H. A., & Travis Wolfe, N. (1996). History of criminal justice (2nd ed.). Cincinnati, OH: Anderson. 20. The book was a best seller in America. For an edited translation of Beccarias essay, see Becarria, C. (1992). An essay on crimes and punishment. Wellesley, MA: Branden Publishing. 21. Burns, J. H., & Hart, H. L. A. (Eds.). (1996). The collected works of Jeremy Bentham: An introduction to the principles of morals and legislation. New York: Oxford University Press. 22. For a discussion of biological and other theories of causation, see Curran, D. J., & Renzetti, C. M. (1994). Theories of crime. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. 23. For an examination of Lombrosos work, see Gibson, M. (2002). Born to crime: Cesare Lombroso and the origins of biological crime. New York: Praeger. 24. Darwins pathbreaking work is presented in Darwin, C. (1964). On the origin of species: A facsimile of the first edition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 25. See Dugdale, R. L. (1985). The Jukes: A study in crime, pauperism, disease, and heredity (3rd ed.). New York: G. P. Putnams Sons. 26. See Bohm, R. M. (2001). A primer on delinquency and crime theory (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. 27. See Jacobs, P., Brunton, M., Meville, M. M., et al. (1965, December). Aggressive behavior, mental subnormality, and the XYY male. Nature, 208, 1351-1352. 28. See Marsh, F. H., & Katz, J. (Eds.). (1985). Biology, crime, and ethics: A study of biological explanations for criminal behavior. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson. 29. See Sheldon, W. (1949).Varieties of Delinquent Youth. New York: Harper and Row. 30. See Glueck, S., & Glueck, E. (1949). Physique and criminality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; see also Glueck, S., & Glueck, E. (1950). Unraveling juvenile delinquency. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 31. See, e.g., Laub, J. H. (1987). Reanalyzing the Glueck Data: A New Look at Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Society of Criminology. Montreal, Canada. 32. For a good introduction to the work of Jung, see Campbell, J. (Ed.). (1976). The portable Jung. New York: Penguin Books. 33. For a good introduction to the work of Freud, see Gay, P. (Ed.). (1989). The Freud reader. New York: W. W. Norton. 34. For a selection of the writings of Pavlov, see Pavlov, I. P. (2001). I.P. Pavlov: Selected works. Honolulu, HI: University Press of the Pacific. 35. See Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. New York: Macmillan.
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Juvenile Delinquency 36. For a later discussion of Cleckleys original work, see Cleckley, H. M. (1976). The mask of sanity: An attempt to clarify some issues about the so-called psychopathic personality (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby. 37. See Durkheim, E. (1951). Suicide (J. A. Spaulding & G. Simpson, Trans.). New York: Free Press; see also Durkheim, E. (1994). The division of labor in society (W. D. Halls, Trans.). New York: Free Press. 38. See Merton, R. K. (1938). Social structure and anomie. In American Sociological Review, 3; see also Merton, R. K. (1968). Social theory and social structure (enlarged ed.). New York: Free Press. 39. For discussions of seminal research on social ecology, see Park, R. E., & Burgess, E. (1924). Introduction to the science of sociology (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press; see also Park, R. E. (Ed.). (1925). The city. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 40. See Shaw, C. R. (1942). Juvenile delinquency in urban areas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; see also Burgess, E. W. (1952). The economic factor in juvenile delinquency. Journal of Criminal Law, 43. 41. For pioneering work on delinquency patterns in transitional urban zones in Chicago, see Shaw, C. R., & McKay, H. D. (1972). Juvenile delinquency and urban areas (Rev. ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 42. For a discussion of associations between social ecology and deviance, see Wilks, J. A. (Ed.). Ecological correlates of delinquency and crime. In Task force report: Crime and its impactAn assessment. (1967). Presidents Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 43. Sutherland, E. H. (1939). Principles of criminology (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott. 44. For a discussion of labeling theory, see Becker, H. S. (1963). Outsiders: Studies in the sociology of deviance (Rev. ed.). New York: Free Press. 45. See Krisberg, B. (1975). Crime and privilege: Toward a new criminology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 46. See Chambliss, W. J., & Seidman, R. B. (1982). Law, order and power. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. 47. See Chambliss, W. J., & Seidman, R. B. (1982). Law, order and power. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley; see also Quinney, R. (1970). The social reality of crime. Boston: Little, Brown. 48. Association for Pre- & Perinatal Psychology and Health.
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